Publication Items

Food Safety Group Sues Ag Department for FOIA'd Records on GMO Crops

The Center for Food Safety has sued the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service under the Freedom of Information Act for withholding information on genetically modified crops (GMOs), after unsuccessfully seeking information over a period of 13 years.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture
Environmental Health
Food
Health
Laws & Regulations
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Food Safety Group Sues Ag Department for FOIA'd Records on GMO Crops
CAMEO Still Making Appearance as First Responders Face Hazmats

CAMEO is a free and publicly available suite of applications useful to reporters. Developed by the U.S. EPA and NOAA, it includes information about the hazards of various chemicals, as well as map overlays that may show how close a spill site is to the nearest facility of interest, such as a nursery school or retirement home.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters
Technology
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about CAMEO Still Making Appearance as First Responders Face Hazmats
State Judge Orders Disclosure of Maryland Oil Train Data

A Maryland state judge this month ordered a state agency to give news media routing information about oil trains within Maryland — adding momentum to efforts to warn firefighters and communities about dangers they face. Photo: 2013 Lac Megantic, Quebec, disaster, by Elias Schewel/Flickr.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters
Energy & Fuel
People & Population
Transportation
Region:
National (U.S.)
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about State Judge Orders Disclosure of Maryland Oil Train Data
Lustgarten Says Data on Who Gets Ag Subsidies Is Rare as Hens' Teeth

Abrahm Lustgarten (left) wrote a nine-part series delving into farm subsidies and water policy. But his efforts to get the actual names of farm subsidy recipients or individual water users were largely thwarted. Read how info flows less quickly to the public than money and water flow to farmers in SPJ's FOI blog. Photo credit: Lars Klove.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture
Policy
Water & Oceans
Region:
California
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY)
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Lustgarten Says Data on Who Gets Ag Subsidies Is Rare as Hens' Teeth
Still Interested? Some Feds Hope You Will Give Up on FOIA Requests

Federal agencies sometimes wait years to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests, then ask if they are still interested in receiving the requested information. Now the Justice Department's Office of Information Policy has issued an official "guidance" that frowns slightly on overuse of the "still interested?" practice.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Government
Laws & Regulations
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Still Interested? Some Feds Hope You Will Give Up on FOIA Requests
Federal Judge Strikes Down Idaho "Ag-Gag" Law as Unconstitutional

"The facts show the state's purpose in enacting the statute was to protect industrial animal agriculture by silencing its critics," district Judge B. Lynn Winmill wrote. Sometimes investigative journalists need to go undercover. And sometimes muckraking journalists need undercover whistleblowers to tip them to abuses.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Activism
Agriculture
Laws & Regulations
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Federal Judge Strikes Down Idaho "Ag-Gag" Law as Unconstitutional
53 Journalism Groups Ask Obama To End Press Office Blockades

SEJ, which has complained about press-office restrictions for years, joined over 50 other journalism groups in signing an Aug 10, 2015 letter requesting government transparency — again. The groups had sent a letter to the White House in July 2014, a followup in Aug 2014, resulting in a non-response response from the WH later that month.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Government
Journalism & Media
Policy
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about 53 Journalism Groups Ask Obama To End Press Office Blockades
Are Health Warnings on Soda Unconstitutional? Industry Says Yes

The American Beverage Association, California State Outdoor Advertising Association and California Retailers Association sued San Francisco for requiring health warnings on advertisements for certain sugary beverages when posted on city property, saying it violates their First Amendment rights.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer
Economy & Business
Health
Region:
California
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Are Health Warnings on Soda Unconstitutional? Industry Says Yes
Filming in Parks and Forests: The Alaskan Angle

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (pictured) has proposed a bill that would (among other things) set a flat $200 annual fee to permit unlimited shooting by small film crews. Now E&E Daily reports Murkowski's filmmaker nephew faced the fees-and-permits barrier when he wanted to shoot near her father's home, surrounded by the Tongass National Forest.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media
Laws & Regulations
Natural Resources
Region:
National (U.S.)
Alaska and Hawaii
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Filming in Parks and Forests: The Alaskan Angle
Railroads Still Don't Want Public To Know Oil Train Danger

If you want to know whether an oil train is going by your community, just go down to the railroad tracks and watch for it. But don't ask the railroad or the state. In many cases, they don't think you can be trusted with this secret.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters
Energy & Fuel
People & Population
Transportation
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Railroads Still Don't Want Public To Know Oil Train Danger

Pages

Browse Publications

Advertisement

Advertise with SEJ